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Home , Birds of Vermont Museum, Hawking (birds), Rapeseed, Wildlife garden

Backyard In Vermont

by Steve Parren Illustrated by Libby Walker Davidson Presented by the Agency of Natural Resources Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Nongame and Natural Heritage Program

In cooperation with Central Vermont Public Service Corporation and support from the Vermont Forest Stewardship Program

Drawing copyright © by Libby Davidson. Drawings may not be reproduced without prior written permission of the Illustrator.

The MISSION of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is the conservation of fish, wildlife, and and their for the people of Vermont.

The Agency of Natural Resources is an equal opportunity agency and offers all persons the benefit of participation in each of its programs and competing in all areas of employment regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, sexual preference, or other non-merit factors.

Printed on recycle paper (1993) Reprinted 1997 (8M) Backyard Wildlife Habitat In Vermont

Table of Contents Enjoying Wildlife 1 Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard 2 3 Birdseed ...... 3 and Other Fatty ...... 5 Birdseed Feeders ...... 6 Shields for Feeders and Nesting Boxes ...... 6 Gravel and Eggshells ...... 7 When to Feed the ...... 7 ...... 8 Food Plants 9 Large Trees ...... 9 Smaller Trees ...... 10 Large Shrubs ...... 11 Smaller Shrubs ...... 12 Brambles and Vines ...... 13 Grasses and Wildflowers ...... 13 Butterfly ...... 1 6 Plants that Attract Hummingbirds ...... 17 Dead Trees and Other Food ...... 17 Water 18 Birdbaths and Other Shallow Water ...... 18 Keep Your Water Wet (Unfrozen) ...... 19 Pools to Ponds ...... 19 Cover 21 Nesting Boxes ...... 21 Bat Boxes ...... 24 Buildings, Barns and Wildlife ...... 24 Nesting Material ...... 25 Plants and Natural Materials as Cover 25 Trees, Shrubs, and Grasses ...... 25 Lookout Perches ...... 25 Protection from Predators ...... 26 Dead and Hollow Trees ...... 26 Fallen Trees, Brush Piles and Stone Walls ...... 27 Developing Your Backyard 28 Consider What You Already Have ...... 28 An Example from the Suburbs ...... 29 An Urban Example ...... 30 Observing Wildlife ...... 30 Designing Your Backyard for Wildlife and You ...... 31 Birds Hitting Window ...... 32 What You Can Do In Your Backyard ...... 32 Maintaining Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat 35 Seeding, Mowing, and Cutting ...... 35 Moving Trees and Shrubs ...... 36 Being Responsible 37 Dangers of Collecting Wildflowers ...... 37 Non-native Animals and Plants ...... 37 Global Warming and What You Can Do ...... 37 When to Stop Feeding ...... 39 Preventing Disease ...... 40 Cats and Dogs...... 40 Poisoning...... 40 Other Risks to Wildlife ...... 41 Leaving Wildlife Wild ...... 41 Animals that Need Help ...... 41 When Wildlife Get Annoying ...... 42 Rabies ...... 42 Wildlife and You 43 Backyard Wildlife Contacts 44 Reference Materials 45 Backyard Wildlife Habitat in Vermont by Steve Parren Enjoying Wildlife as a cup of . It ll of us enjoy observing is a lifestyle Awildlife. We stop to admire that is the ‘V’ of geese flying overhead rapidly and are thrilled by the sight of a spreading in the U.S.A.: birdseed bluebird. The deer at the meadow’s sales went from 1 billion dollars in edge and the scurrying chipmunk 1985 to 3.3 billion dollars in 2006! on the wall give us pleasure. Who Vermonters are part of this trend. wouldn’t stop to watch painted We spent $68 million on feeding, turtles sunning themselves on a watching, and photographing partly submerged log? Spring wildlife in 2006. A 2006 survey mornings wouldn’t be complete showed that 78 percent of the without a robin’s song. Vermont respondents fed wildlife We enjoy wild animals whenever and 70 percent reported observing we are lucky enough to see or hear wildlife at home. them. A growing number of us The world we live in is full of have discovered that the joy of people — 6.7 billion on the planet, seeing and hearing wildlife can be 304 million in the U.S.A., and over experienced every day—right at 623,000 in Vermont. With so many home. of us, wild animals and plants are Feeding “my” birds in the morning being squeezed out of their homes. is as much a part of my daily routine We can help wildlife by being good neighbors Many animals are willing to share our yards. Cardinals, chickadees, rabbits, squirrels, frogs, toads, bluebirds, woodpeckers, and chipmunks are only a few of the wild animals that will liven up our yards if we give them a chance. We don’t need to live our lives apart from nature. Our own backyards can be both safe havens for wildlife and delightful connections with the natural world for us.

 Wildlife Habitat in Your Backyard

This booklet is written for those Different kinds of animals and who would like to enjoy wildlife at plants are found in different home. I’ve included many ideas habitats. Some animals and plants that have been successful attracting live in meadows while others prefer wildlife to Vermont backyards. woodlands. Look over these ideas and try Backyards can be productive out the ones that appeal to you. wildlife habitat, especially when our If you want more information landscaping efforts blend in with or assistance, contact a group natural conditions. Most yards have interested in backyard wildlife the potential to provide needed habitat and read other materials FOOD, WATER, and COVER listed at the end of this booklet. for many of wildlife. A little effort on your part will be Feeding the birds supplements the rewarded by wildlife sharing your food requirements of a number backyard. of different birds and perhaps chipmunks and squirrels. Add a Wildlife Habitat in Your birdbath or pool and wildlife Backyard will not need to leave your yard to hat is wildlife habitat? WWildlife habitat is the area in which animals find the FOOD, WATER, and COVER they need to survive.

Food, water and cover for wildlife can be easily provided in your background.

 Food search for needed water. But what Food about cover for concealing young ild animals spend a great animals, resting, and escaping from deal of their time searching predators? Will wildlife be as likely W for food and eating. Because of to share your yard if there are no Vermont’s long, cold winters many trees, shrubs, or other plantings? birds migrate to warmer places. The house sparrow, a European Some animals such as woodchucks transplant, will use your feeder even hibernate. Others such as squirrels if your yard is paved, but if you store up a supply of food, and some want a of native animals you survive on what they can find. must provide cover. While it may not be necessary for Try these 3 easy ways to improve us to fill our feeders for the winter your backyard for wildlife. birds and squirrels to survive, the a Don’t mow, let grasses and fact that so many come by for a wildflowers grow meal indicates that they find it a Don’t remove vines and brush, helpful. they provide natural food and cover Birdseed a Don’t cut down a dead tree, it I notice more activity at my feeders may save a squirrel’s home and during the coldest weather. Birds provide a woodpecker with food forage in the fields and forests on mild days during winter, but when it is really cold they seek out feeders Note: This booklet does not where they can depend on finding provide detailed descriptions an energy-packed lunch without of the various animals and burning up too much energy. plants mentioned. Several field guide series such as , When feeding wild birds, what Golden, and Peterson and the you feed is important. If I could Stokes Nature Guides do an only use one type of food, I would excellent job covering nature choose black oil sunflower seeds. topics. Use them to build on This seed is relished by chickadees, your existing knowledge of the evening grosbeaks, cardinals, and natural world—you probably finches. It is less attractive to non- know more than you think you do. native house sparrows and starlings. The striped is also

 Food

Table 1. Relative Use of Selected Seeds by Common Feeder Birds Sunflower Thistle Peanut Hearts Canary Fine Corn

Cardinal 2 - - - - - Chickadee 2 - - - - - Cowbird - - - 1 2 - Mourning Dove 2 - - 2 2 1 House Finch 2 1 - - - - Purple Finch 2 - - - - - Goldfinch 1 2 - - - - Evening Grosbeak 2 - - - - - Grackle - - 1 - - 1 Blue Jay 2 - - - - - Nuthatches 2 - - - - - Sparrows, native 2 - 1 1 2 1 House Sparrow - - - 1 2 - Starling - - 2 - - 1 Woodpeckers 1 - - - - -

(2 = Use High; 1 = Use Moderate; - = Use Low or Not Eaten) an excellent food, and the tufted Peanut hearts are readily eaten titmouse and blue jay prefer it to the by starlings. Millets and canary black oil sunflower seed. seed attract cowbirds and house If you want to attract goldfinches, sparrows. I choose not to offer nothing compares to thistle seed peanut hearts and other small seeds (niger), which also attracts house even though they are also used finches and pine siskins(see by native sparrows. I’m still able Table 1). Cracked corn, , to attract song sparrows, white- milo (sorghum), , hulled , throated sparrows, juncos, and , and flax, are relatively mourning doves who like the black unattractive to most birds. Mixtures oil sunflower seeds, but my feeders of these unattractive “birdseeds” are are less attractive to house sparrows, often sold in grocery stores. Check starlings and cowbirds. the ingredients on the label before House sparrows disrupt and you buy. sometimes kill nesting bluebirds and

 Food tree . Cowbirds lay their Squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, mice, eggs in the nests of other birds (nest raccoons, skunks, and deer will all parasite). If you don’t have house eat birdseed. sparrow or cowbird problems you may want to offer smaller seeds. Suet and Other Fatty Foods You should still choose small seeds Suet is the hard around the that are attractive to most birds kidneys of beef and sheep. It so that your seed doesn’t end up appeals to many winter birds. wasted. White proso was Downy, and the larger, hairy reported to be the best small seed by woodpeckers will take sunflower the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service. seeds (even from tube feeders), but suet is what really brings them into backyards during winter. Black-capped chickadees, red- breasted and white- breasted nuthatches, blue jays, and starlings also like suet. Suet is available at most grocery stores. It should only be offered in cool weather (October through May) to prevent the fat from becoming rancid. Hang suet well above the ground in a wire basket or mesh bag to prevent neighborhood dogs and raccoons from carrying it off. Other fatty foods may be offered, and some are better than others.

 Food

Avoid mixtures of fat or Shields for Feeders and peanut and seeds because Nesting Boxes seed eaters may end up with matted feathers from the grease. Some Squirrels and other can people mix equal portions of natural quickly empty your feeders so you peanut butter and corn meal, which may want to deter these guests. A is not as greasy and less likely to metal cone shield around the post stick to . As with suet, you of my large box feeder prevents should hang these foods out of the red and gray squirrels and raccoons reach of dogs and raccoons. from getting into it. The squirrels get plenty of food from the spill on Birdseed Feeders the ground. Cone shields can also be used with platforms and tube How you offer food can affect what feeders mounted on posts. Cone birds you attract. shields also protect nesting boxes a Open platform feeders are from raccoons. preferred by some birds, Attaching a trash can cover, including cardinals. inverted pail or other baffle on a a Roofed box feeders will keep a pole running through its center supply of seed dry and available (similar to cone shield), wrapping for many birds. metal flashing around a thick post, a and greasing a metal pole will also Tube feeders give small perching deter mammals, but these methods birds like chickadees and finches are not as effective as a cone. For an advantage. Some tube hanging feeders an inverted plastic feeders are designed for thistle dome, plastic soda bottles, or other seed and have small holes so the baffles can be attached above on a seed doesn’t spill out. suspended line running a Thistle seed bags work well but through the center of wear out. these baffles, to prevent a squirrels from Feeders designed to attach to climbing down the windows with suction cups or line. others that mount on window sills allow for close-up viewing. Seed can also be spread on the ground or other surface

 Food

My gravel driveway gets a lot of activity from birds selecting the size gravel they need. You might try placing sand or small gravel in an open platform feeder to see if the birds will use it. Birds also need calcium for eggshell formation, which they get from foods they eat. To help them meet this need you could save shells from chicken eggs, rinse, dry, and grind them up and offer them to the birds during spring or year-round. You can easily break shells into small bits by placing them in a bag and striking with a hammer or wooden spoon.

When to Feed the Birds Feeding birds does not have to be only a winter activity. While some winter birds do leave our feeders in the spring for their northern summer homes and wild foods become more available with the warming weather, resident birds will A cone shield of 26 gauge sheet use our feeders if we feed them. metal will ensure that raccoons and You may not need to offer as much other climbing animals will not get seed during spring and summer, but into your nesting box or feeder. by feeding year-round, adults will be encouraged to bring their young Gravel and Eggshells into your backyard. They get a dependable food source and you get Birds lack teeth, so they must to see them. pick up sand or small gravel to grind their food in their gizzards By continuing to fill your (muscular part of bird stomach). feeders during spring and fall, you

 Food may entice migrating birds like available at your feeder. Be patient. white-crowned and fox sparrows Eventually a bird will locate and to stop by for a few days before use your feeder. Once a single continuing their journeys. Your yard bird finds your feeder it will attract could provide an important way others. station for migrating birds worn out by the demands of their travels. Hummingbirds Birds that breed in Vermont but I have good success attracting winter in warmer places can be hummingbirds to my nectar feeder attracted to our feeders during the from May through September. To spring and summer. Bluebirds make your own nectar mix 4 parts will sometimes accept offerings of water with 1 part , which raisins and berries placed on open is the maximum recommended platforms. concentration. Don’t use honey because a fungus harmful to You may be able to attract rose- hummingbirds may grow. The breasted grosbeaks with suet, sunflower seeds, pieces of bananas, color red attracts hummingbirds, and orange slices in early spring. so most feeders have some red They will continue to eat sunflower parts. Commercial seed through the summer and may mix may be colored red, but I advise bring their young to the feeder. against coloring any nectar you mix yourself to avoid any chance of Beginning in May, orioles can be contamination. attracted with orange halves. You can offer these in suspended feeders You can buy various large and small where you “spear” the orange on hummingbird feeders, some of a sharpened dowel or on open which look like several red flowers platforms. Orioles will also drink ringing a nectar reservoir. My feeder the nectar from hummingbird is a simple suspended bottle with feeders until June when caterpillars a glass tube inserted through the and other insect foods become more rubber stopper. I hang my feeder in available. a small tree surrounded by flowers where I can see it from my nearby When feeding birds for the first gazebo. I coat the wire attaching the time or after a long absence, it may feeder to the branch with mineral take several weeks for the birds oil which blocks access to crawling and squirrels to realize that food is . A bee guard prevents the

 Food Plants

fungus, but be sure the mixture has cooled before offering it to the hummingbirds. You can store unused nectar in a refrigerator for future use.

Food Plants any plants are important food Msources for wildlife. Eight of the best native food plants are cross-referenced with 13 common backyard birds and mammals in Table 2. Use this chart as a quick reference guide, but remember that other plants are also valuable sources of food for wildlife. Hummingbirds can be attracted to a mixture of 4 parts water to 1 part Large Trees sugar. Pine cones contain seeds savored by nuthatches, crossbills, pine siskins, wasps and bees from draining the pine grosbeaks, and squirrels. I nectar. often find piles of shucked cones, You should clean and refill your which resemble corn cobs after the feeder with fresh nectar on a red squirrels have been feasting on regular basis to prevent bacterial pine seeds. Beechnuts and acorns growth in the sugar solution. I (found on beech and oak trees) are refill mine every few days and give eaten by many animals, including it a washing with hot water and turkeys and black bears. soap when a black film becomes My property lacks mature seed- apparent. A large nectar feeder bearing oaks, so there is no natural may be more of a problem if you supply of acorns. However, my don’t refill it frequently, which children and I often return from would allow bacteria more time to outings with our pockets full of grow. By using boiling water to acorns for our chipmunks. We have mix your nectar you can further lots of fun leaving the acorns on the limit the growth of bacteria and deck and woodpile and seeing how

 Food Plants

Table 2. Selected Native Food Plants and Some Animals that Eat Them

Dogwood Blackberry Cherry Sumac Red Cedar Pine Oak Birds Bluebird * * Cardinal * * * * Catbird * * * * * Purple Finch * * * Evening Grosbeak * * Pine Grosbeak * * * * Robin * * * * * * Cedar Waxwing * * * * * Mammals Chipmunk * * * * Red Squirrel * * * Gray Squirrel * * * Rabbit # * * * * * Raccoon * * *

# rabbits browse on stems and low branches long it takes “chippy” to find them. of aspens are relished by ruffed My father offers peanuts with the grouse. My family enjoys watching shells on to his squirrels, blue jays, these football-sized birds working and tufted titmice to make up for the outer branches of a nearby his lack of oaks. grove. The buds, flowers, and “helicopter” seeds of maples are eaten by Smaller Trees evening grosbeaks. Siskins eat Eastern redcedar (really a juniper) hemlock and birch seeds. Purple seeds are eaten by cedar waxwings, bird droppings are a sure sign that bluebirds, -rumped warblers, black cherries have ripened in purple finches, robins, mockingbirds, the treetops. The buds and catkins sapsuckers, and pine and evening (flower clusters lacking ) grosbeaks. Apples attract grouse,

10 Food Plants deer, red fox, raccoons, and shad run up the Connecticut River squirrels. I’ve watched small flocks in the spring. Its delicate white of pine grosbeaks descend on flowers attract early butterflies like ornamental crabapple trees in the spring azure. Its ripen in winter to feast on their seeds. Cedar June (earning it yet another name, waxwings feed on hawthorns, Juneberry) and are eaten by robins, which look like apple trees with orioles, hermit thrushes, catbirds, thorns. The mountain ash has and cedar waxwings. that persists through the winter and is eaten by cedar waxwings and Large Shrubs pine and evening grosbeaks. A shrub/tree that is much A small tree I’m very fond of undervalued is the staghorn sumac. is the serviceberry (also called It has upright, red fruit clusters shadbush), which flowers when and fuzzy stems that resemble deer

Oak trees provide a very important wildlife food: acorns.

11 Food Plants antlers in velvet. Sumacs grow well Chickadees, redpolls, siskins, and in old fields and disturbed areas, goldfinches feed onspeckled including vacant city lots. The fruit alder catkins and seeds. The of this is available through female catkins look like tiny pine the winter and for migrating birds cones. Woodcock frequent alder returning to Vermont in the spring. thickets because the wet soils are I’m thrilled each spring when good places for them to probe bluebirds drop from the sky into for earthworms. Choke cherry my patch of sumacs. Along with produces fruits in July, and birds the birds listed in Table 2, hermit feeding in its branches are easily thrushes and flickers feed on sumac. viewed. Crows eat sumac berries too; look for them in the tops of sumacs Smaller Shrubs along roadways in late winter. Silky dogwood is an important berry producer and helps to stabilize streambanks. It’s very common in roadside ditches and its reddening stems offer hope of spring in late winter. I’ve had excellent luck transplanting this shrub as a colorful foundation planting that attracts the birds. A similar shrub, red- osier dogwood, is also attractive to wildlife. The clustered stems of gray- stemmed dogwood look like little islands in meadows. It provides food and important nesting sites. Other good berry producing shrubs include elderberry, blueberry, huckleberry, and the viburnums Staghorn sumac berries are an (arrowwood, nannyberry, and important Wildlife food because mapleleaf viburnum). they are present during the winter and early spring when other wild Pussy willow flowers attract a foods are scarce. multitude of bees and other insects.

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Gray-stemmed dogwood creates a brushy mat that looks like a meadow island, produces many white berries used by wildlife, and provides good nesting cover for birds.

One of our earliest butterflies, Table 2, grouse, hermit and wood the mourning cloak, overwinters thrushes, and skunks also feed on as an adult and its spring larvae . (caterpillars) feed on pussy willow Virginia creeper, another vine, leaves. The larval viceroy butterfly produces a fruit eaten by flickers, overwinters on willows in a leaf case robins, wood thrushes, and it constructs. Yellow warblers gather mockingbirds. Three different the cottony down around willow sphinx moths (myron, pandorus, seeds for nest building. and white-lined) feed on the Virginia creeper plant in mid-summer as Brambles and Vines caterpillars. Brambles (blackberries and raspberries) provide food for many Grasses and Wildflowers animals including orioles, veerys, Non-woody plants (such as grasses wood thrushes, mockingbirds, and wildflowers) are valuable thrashers, raccoons, chipmunks - sources of food for wildlife, too. - and maybe an occasional wood Many sparrows eat grass seeds. turtle. Vines provide wildlife food Sedges (the stems have edges and too. In addition to the animals in triangular seeds) are also eaten by a

13 Food Plants

Catbirds feed on grapes, use its bark to construct nests, and sometimes nest within the cover of grapevines. The dandelion’s showy yellow flowers also attract bees, and variety of sparrows as well as snow goldfinches eat the seeds buntings. . Goldfinches lovethistle , and their Sheep sorrel (sourgrass) and late nesting is timed so that the curly dock, both common young are produced when the seeds weeds, are browsed by rabbits, and of many wildflowers are maturing. sparrows and redpolls eat their I always let the thistles grow, but seeds. Rabbits also eat plaintain, sometimes I transplant them (dig yet another common lawn weed. deep to get the taproot) to get them Clover flowers attract bees, and out of the path of tender human rabbits eat the plants. feet.

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Sunflowers are another food plant let the wildflowers take over. The that I semi-cultivate. I move sprouts chicory and evening primrose are from seeds dropped by the birds to probed by goldfinches for seeds, my garden. One year I and I’ve had as many as 40 birds rise planted a large area with sunflowers. into the air as I drive or walk down I enjoyed both their large showy the driveway. The tall, white sweet flower heads all facing in one clover and black-eyed susans direction and the acrobatics of the attract bees, butterflies, and other jays and chickadees as they extracted insects. Thick swaths of Queen the seeds. Anne’s lace also attract butterflies. Monarch butterfly caterpillars feed on the milkweed plant and the sweet clusters of pink flowers attract monarch and other adult butterflies. You might find middens (storage piles) of milkweed seeds stored away by mice. Pigweed (amaranth) and lamb’s quarters (goosefoot) are often found in cultivated areas, and sparrows and redpolls feed on their abundant seeds. Goldenrod dominates old meadows, provides great color in early fall, and attract bees and other insects. I mow several feet on either side of my gravel Goldfinches feed on wild thistle seeds late in driveway until June, then summer.

15 Food Plants

Butterfly Gardening attracting butterflies already. Entire books have been written Different plants attract different about gardening for butterflies, and butterflies. To learn more space does not allow a thorough about discussion in this booklet. If you refer to one of several maintain a and books on butterflies listed have flowering plants like in the Reference Materials section. lilacs, you are probably

The monarch butterfly is distasteful to birds because it feeds on the milkweed pant as a caterpillar.

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downy woodpeckers regularly extract insects from the trunks of dead elms near my house. On several occasions the large pileated Plants that Attract woodpecker has hammered away at Hummingbirds these same trees. If you don’t have any dead trees, consider installing Cardinal flowers with their vibrant one as a landscape feature. Some red spikes and jewelweed with friends and I once dragged a 6- orange flowers are both found in foot section of dead tree to their wet areas and are frequently visited backyard. The woodpeckers loved by hummingbirds. Jewelweed is it, and so did we for the good also called touch-me-not because viewing opportunities it provided. its seed pods have an organic spring that explodes on contact and The small downy scatters the seeds. (My children and woodpecker I never miss an opportunity to help will also disperse jewelweed seeds.) search for Cultivated flowers, especially insects in those which are red, also attract wooden hummingbirds. I’ve watched fence hummingbirds feed on impatiens, posts and beebalm, hollyhocks, weigela, even rigid fuchsia, and even dark purple iris. plant stalks The clear-winged sphinx moth is a like mullein. wonderful little creature whose rapid Nuthatches, wing beats and stout body makes it brown creepers, look like a miniature hummingbird chickadees, and as it visits some of the same blooms black and white in my wife’s perennial garden. warblers probe Dead Trees and Other Insect Food Woodpeckers feed on insects found Birds and mammals feed on insects, in dead and dying trees. Try and dead trees can enhance your leaving standing dead trees for yard’s value to wildlife. Hairy and wildlife in your backyard.

17 Water trunks and branches for insects. insects to use the water too. On Other warblers glean insects from hot summer days as many as 100 the surface of leaves. honeybees will be sipping water from my birdbath. Some warblers and flycatchers capture insects in the air (hawking) and the eastern phoebe (a flycatcher) captures cluster flies and other insects under the eaves of my house. Sometimes yellow-rumped warblers will do this also. In open habitats, bluebirds may use your yard trees and rain gutters as perches while searching the lawn for insects.

Some insects eat other insects, and are welcomed in our backyards. You may see praying mantises patrolling your yard and for insect The most important value of prey. Ladybugs (ladybird beetles) birdbaths is that wildlife have a feed on aphids. ready supply of drinking water.

Water Although birds do bathe in birdbaths and other shallow waters, Birdbaths and Other it is the need for drinking water Shallow Water that is most critical for birds and roviding water is simple to do other wildlife. Keeping a water Pand may be the most important source close to the ground will allow addition to your yard for attracting ground-dwelling animals as well as wildlife. A shallow pan is all that is birds to use the water. Chipmunks needed. Even an overturned frisbee regularly use my birdbath. or garbage can lid will do. Consider offering more than one The water depth should be 2 inches water source—one elevated and or less so that small birds attracted one at ground level. to the water can stand in it. A water attracts animals; a leaking pail very shallow section of a birdbath or hose can be suspended above or partly submerged stone allows a birdbath. Commercial misters,

18 Water drippers, and fountains are also costs pennies per day to operate available. By providing a nearby and I never noticed the difference it perch you will attract birds to land at made in my electric bill. Don’t use the birdbath. antifreeze in birdbaths because it will kill birds and other animals. Try to place birdbaths about 10 feet from a tree with branches or other Pools to Ponds cover, so that small animals can flee to safety if threatened. You should Garden pools are excellent backyard avoid placing a bath in an area with habitat features for wildlife and you dense shrubbery that can easily hide may even attract frogs and turtles. a cat or other predator. I hand dug a 6-foot wide by 4-foot deep pool which soon attracted Keep Your Water Wet frogs, raccoons, and even deer. You (Unfrozen) can purchase pool kits to add these features to your yard. Unfrozen water is difficult to find during the winter. You may see A stream, especially one that flows birds dropping into your rain gutters year-round, is extremely valuable to drink sun-melted water. If you and should attract many types of provide water during the winter, wildlife. By leaving buffer strips of wildlife will use it. Change your native vegetation along streambanks, water often so that the birdbath has you will help prevent erosion and water, not ice. Freezing water can provide travel lanes for wildlife. crack birdbaths and you might want Don’t overlook temporary pools to switch to an inexpensive pan for (called vernal pools). Frogs and the winter. I solved my winter birdbath needs by purchasing an electric birdbath heater. It cost less than $50.00 and has served me and the birds well over the last half dozen winters. The heater turns itself off once the water is warmed or Vernal pools provide habitat for frogs and if the bath is dry, which salamanders to mate and deposit their eggs conserves energy. It only without the treat of predation by fish.

19 Water salamanders seek out vernal pools You may want to build a pond if in the spring to mate and deposit you have the space. Please get their eggs. The temporary pools are professional advice first because especially important because fish construction of ponds can damage predators that would eat the eggs are and stream habitat absent. important to wildlife, disrupt water flow, and may fail to hold water. If Swales, seeps, and other wet areas you do have a pond, it will be more are also important. Try to preserve attractive to wildlife if you don’t these natural drainage features on mow the shoreline, allowing trees, your property. shrubs, and tall grasses to grow.

Many animals can not reach the water in a raised birdbath, but a ground level water source is available to all wildlife.

20 Cover

Cover butterflies survive the winter as adults or pupae. over for wildlife includes shelter Cfor nests and young animals, Box design and location determine secure resting areas, travel lanes that what species will use your nesting provide concealment, protection box. If you want to attract from the weather, and areas to bluebirds, use a box with a 1 1/2- escape to when threatened. A inch diameter hole, place it on a tangle of blackberries, overhanging post about 5 feet above ground in branches, tall grass, and a nesting a meadow or other opening 1 acre box are all examples of cover. or larger in size, and at least 30 feet from a woods’ edge or brushy area. Nesting Boxes Flying squirrels will enter nesting Nesting boxes are a type of boxes in or at the edge of woods wildlife shelter that provides cover and may use them on a regular for wildlife nesting and roosting. basis. Wrens will be attracted to Although usually associated with boxes near brushy areas and may birds (“bird houses”), nesting boxes “throw” eggs of other birds out of are also used by other wildlife. I the box. Raccoons eat birds and once discovered a spring peeper eggs, and may disturb boxes along (frog) in a nesting box. See the brushy fence lines, hedgerows, and bluebird nesting box design and other travel lanes. (Refer again dimensions on page 22. Modify to the drawing on page 7 for a these dimension using Table 3 to predator shield design that will deter build boxes for other animals. raccoons.) Insects commonly use nesting A 1 1/2-inch diameter hole will boxes. Spiders always move in and prevent the larger starling from paper wasps can become a nuisance. using the box. The pesky house If not removed, wasps may sparrow may be a problem. Monitor completely fill the box with their your boxes closely to thwart their nest. On cold mornings the wasps nesting attempts. Perches are not are numb with cold and can be needed and actually are a problem swept out with a stick or handful of because competing birds use them grass. Bee boxes and baskets serve as platforms from which to harass as nest sites for honeybees. You can the nesting birds. even construct boxes to help some

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Bluebird/ nesting box design 1. Use 3/4-inch or thicker wood for strength and insulation. 2. Provide good ventilation becasue the sun really heats up a box (drilled holes are usually not adequate). 3. Cut corners of the floor so any water that gets into your box will drain out. 4. Scratch or make shallow saw cuts beneath 1 1/2-inch entrance hole on the inside to help young birds climb out. 5. Never paint or stain the inside of a nesting box because it could harm the birds.

The tree swallow is one of my apartment houses favorite birds, but it may compete (especially white, metal houses) or with bluebirds for nesting boxes. By nesting gourds can attract colonies placing two boxes 10 to 20 feet apart of this large gregarious swallow. you can often accommodate both However, purple martins may prove birds. difficult to attract to your location.

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Table 3. Wildlife Nesting-Box Dimensions

Entrance Entrance Floor Height Diameter to Floor Dimensions to Ground Habitat (inches) (inches) (inches) (feet) Animal Bluebird 1 1/2 6 to 8 4x4 to 5x5 5 open Tree Swallow 1 1/2 6 to 8 4x4 to 5x5 5 open

Chickadee 1 1/8 to 1 1/2 6 to 8 4x4 to 5x5 5 woods House Wren 1 to 1 1/2 6 to 8 4x4 to 5x5 5 brush (1-inch high by 2-inch wide slot aids nest building with twigs)

Great Crested Flycatcher 2 6 to 8 6x6 15 wood edge Flicker 2 1/2 to 3 14 to 16 7x7 15 wood edge

(fill box with sawdust)

Kestrel (Sparrow Hawk)1 3 9 to 12 8x8 15 edge/open Screech Owl1 3 9 to 12 8x8 15 woods

Flying Squirrel 3 9 to 12 8x8 15 woods (may use bluebird/swallow box with 1 1/2-inch entrance if placed at woods edge, but larger box needed for nursery)

Wood Duck2 (3 high 18 10x12 10 over/near water Common Goldeneye2 by 4 wide 18 10x12 10 over/near water Hooded Merganser2 oval) 18 10x12 10 over/near water

1put 2 to 3 inches of wood chips in box 2put 3 to 4 inches of wood chips in box

Their nesting in Vermont appears to be restricted to open areas near Lake Note: for more information Champlain (most nesting within 20 about purple martins, contact miles of the lake). the Purple Martin Conservation Association, 301 Peninsula Dr., Nesting shelves for eastern Suite 6, Erie, PA 16505 phoebes are popular and may also http://purplemartin.org be used by robins. An open shelf

23 Cover about 6 inches square is all that is construction, larger size, and a dark- required if located in a sheltered colored exterior that should help location (under a roof overhang; keep the boxes warm. Bats aren’t in a barn). Phoebes often nest on shy about moving into urban areas. outdoor light fixtures and door I shared a porch with a few little frames. A roof can be added if brown bats (their actual name) more protection is needed. when I lived in Burlington.

Bat Boxes Buildings, Barns and Bat boxes are becoming more and Wildlife more popular as daytime shelters Have you ever turned over a for these flying mammals. We have flagstone and found a toad? 9 different bat species in Vermont; Sometimes we create attractive spots 6 of these hibernate and the other for wildlife by accident. 3 migrate for the winter. Vermont bats eat a lot of insects, and catch For several years robins have them in the air as do swallows -- but successfully nested in my garden bats work the night shift. gazebo. They have also attempted to nest on my children’s play Bat boxes need to be placed in an equipment and the rain gutters. I area away from people and pets, in once discovered a weasel nesting in a location that takes advantage of my well house. the sun’s warming rays. Some bats in Vermont use attics and metal- The area under my tool shed roofed structures that do not cool provides shelter for chipmunks down as quickly as small bat boxes. during warm weather and juncos To encourage bats to use boxes, during winter. The shed sits on top try using thicker wood, tighter of cement blocks and is a few inches above a gravel base, which creates a safe, snow-free environment. Note: To receive a brochure about bats contact the Vermont It provides protection from the Fish & Wildlife Department, weather and ready access to gravel 103 South Main Street, needed by birds to grind their food. Waterbury, VT 05671-0501. Barns are favorite haunts for barn 802-241-3700 / email: swallows who build their nests on [email protected] www.vtfishandwildlife.com the sides of beams and walls. A single nail is all they need to anchor

24 Plants and Natural Materials their nests. Barn , although rare spending the night huddled within in Vermont, also use barns. I was their protective boughs. once lucky enough to see a kestrel Blackberries and raspberries (sparrow hawk) flying to its home in offer nesting cover for birds and the attic of an apartment building escape cover for rabbits. Tangles in Colchester. Cliff swallows build of grape vines also provide nesting their tubular mud nests under the areas for birds and protective cover. eaves of buildings, including my Cardinals, catbirds, purple finches, brick office building in Waterbury. flying squirrels, and even goldfinches As I look out my window right now use grape bark for nesting material. there is a gray squirrel sunning itself on the window sill. The thick cover of gray-stemmed dogwood always seems to hold a Nesting Material bird nest or two, but I only notice You can also provide nesting them after the leaves have fallen and material for wildlife. Small twigs, nesting is completed. Birds that pieces of grass, short pieces of yarn, nest in this shrub include chipping hair, and fur can be left out where sparrows, goldfinches, catbirds, wildlife will find them. It’s fun to yellow warblers, and red-winged see if our offerings are accepted. blackbirds. You might even get to see the birds Trees, shrubs, hedgerows, grasses, and squirrels carrying off these and wildflowers all provide cover as materials. travel lanes for wildlife. I’ve seen cottontail rabbits 5 feet off my driveway partly hidden in their grass Plants and Natural tunnels. Materials as Cover Lookout Perches Trees, Shrubs, and Grasses Trees and shrubs are important edars and other dense lookout perches for animals. Birds Cevergreen conifers such as and squirrels will often look over pine, spruce, hemlock, and fir are the feeders in your yard from a safe excellent cover for small animals. I perch before coming in for a meal. have observed numerous Cardinals often do this from several emerging from thickets of these different perches before settling in trees on cold winter mornings after to feed. I anchor a dead branch

25 Plants and Natural Materials near my feeders, and many birds and squirrels use it as a perch. If threatened, they dart back to the protective cover of trees and shrubs. You might want to reuse your evergreen tree after the December holidays as a perch by placing it outdoors about 10 feet from your feeders.

Protection from Predators Overhanging vegetation can provide cover from danger above. I have witnessed the survival value of silky dogwood/wild grape cover as a sharp-shinned hawk tried repeatedly and unsuccessfully to grab a blue jay that had ducked into a tangle 10 feet behind one of my feeders. Dense brush that is easily penetrated by a chipmunk or other small animal can stop a pursuing cat or dog. Trees with cavities provide wildlife Dead and Hollow Trees with a home. Flying squirrels Cavities in live and dead trees are might be living in a hollow tree in your backyard. You might not the natural nesting sites we try to know it because flying squirrels are mimic with nesting boxes. Decay active at night. and the efforts of woodpeckers create natural cavities used by many creatures. Some hollow trees are types of wildlife it might harbor. used by generations of porcupines Standing dead trees (snags) are or raccoons. excellent perch sites and may also be den trees. Trees sheltering animals within their trunks and branches are called den By leaving den trees and snags trees. The larger the tree the more you will enhance your backyard

26 Plants and Natural Materials for wildlife, but you should also underground burrow. Stumps are consider the risks to people and also used as feeding areas and offer your home if such a tree should fall. a wider view for small animals like Some areas of your yard probably chipmunks that may scramble up to pose less of a risk than others. survey their world. I’m fortunate to have a large dead pine with a honeybee hive. Our Fallen Trees, Brush Piles gardens are well pollinated and the and Stone Walls open branches are a great place to When a tree falls it is still valuable observe birds, especially when the to wildlife. The decaying trunk surrounding trees are in full leaf. offers concealment, a travel lane, Stumps can be thought of as short and perhaps a den site. The snags. They shelter animals above decaying tree absorbs and retains and below the ground. As stumps water, which creates a moist habitat decay, the systems become favored by salamanders. The larger tunnels with the exposed stump the tree the longer it will provide serving as the front door to the value to wildlife. Firewood piles may provide similar habitat.

The safety of a nearby brush pile may make wildlife easier to view because they feel more secure.

27 Developing Your Backyard

Brush piles attract wildlife and are already exists. No space is too small easy to construct. When cutting to attract wildlife. limbs or trees, clearing brush, or When planning your backyard disposing of last year’s holiday wildlife habitat consider how the evergreen tree, don’t haul the debris plants and other habitat features away to a landfill or burn it—pile it. -- grasses and flowers, trees, stone Juncos, sparrows, chipmunks, and walls, brushy thickets, swampy areas rabbits take advantage of these safe -- that already exist serve the needs havens and you may even discover a of wildlife. The native plants that newborn fawn hiding in a brush pile. have made your backyard their Piles of rocks, rocky outcrops, and home are likely to be well suited to stone walls provide secure den sites, the soil and moisture conditions and travel corridors, and escape cover hardy to Vermont winters. for wildlife. These habitat features If you are having a house built, can tie the landscape together in a convince the contractor to leave manner similar to hedgerows. My as much of the natural vegetation mother-in-law has a stonewall that as possible. This is especially is used all summer by chipmunks important along streams and other and all winter by red squirrels as waterways to prevent erosion. The they travel back and forth from their existing plants are likely to have dens to her feeder. value to wildlife. Once you move in you can take your time selecting Developing Your what should stay and what should Backyard not. You may still want to plant trees, shrubs, and other plants that Consider What You Already you purchase from a nursery, but Have taking the time to evaluate the plants e are very fortunate to have already in your backyard will be well Wmany kinds of wildlife worth the effort. throughout Vermont. Even our most densely settled villages and cities have wildlife close at hand. As you ponder what you might do with your backyard (whether it is a couple of acres, a 1/4-acre lot, or a small patio area), consider what

28 Developing Your Backyard

How you choose to landscape your yard will determine how attractive it will be to wildlife.

An Example from the until 1975 that I convinced him to Suburbs let the wild things reclaim a small When I was 4 years old, my family portion of his 1/2-acre lot. It made moved to a new house in the a lot of sense. The grass never grew suburbs and the backyard was a well under the trees anyway and jungle -- or so it seemed to me. the mowing eliminated plants that Unfortunately, we proceeded to thin were suited to the site. Once the the trees, trim the tangle, and haul mowing stopped we discovered that away the vines to make way for a the seeds already in place sprouted, carpet of grass. Luckily, a bit of including the offspring of a black wildness remained nearby on the cherry tree that had been cut down adjoining farm property in the form years before. of a spring and a huge old maple The variety of trees was increased tree with many hollows used by by transplanting a few small trees squirrels and raccoons. from a not so nearby woodlot. And My father enjoyed feeding the birds the birds helped by dropping seeds even back in 1957, but it was not they had eaten elsewhere in the

29 Developing Your Backyard neighborhood. I had planted a line perches for house finches anxious of spruce tree seedlings as part of a for spring and were safe pathways boy scout project. Those that had for gray squirrels to avoid cars and survived close calls with our lawn dogs. mower are now large. Many of the If you have a small yard you can still birds visiting my father’s feeders attract wildlife. Potted plants and now roost in the protective cover small flower gardens can be used to of the spruce hedge. My father’s attract ornamental crabapple trees have matured and now produce large butterflies. Hummingbirds will visit quantities of fruit, which provides hanging plants such as fuchsia. his backyard wildlife with food. You can still supply the basic elements of FOOD, An Urban Example WATER, COVER When I was in college I lived in regardless of space a city apartment house with a limitations. A single backyard measuring 30 feet by 30 tree, some bushes, feet. A large boxelder tree filled flowers, birdbath, and most of this space and enlarged the bird feeder may be all small yard vertically, bringing birds you need. and squirrels right up to my third floor balcony. Without that one tree the yard would have had less usable space and would have been much less attractive to wildlife. If you’re a 4 1/2-inch chickadee, a 60-foot tree is the equivalent of a 120 story apartment complex...a lot of living space! Observing Wildlife A line of brush connected the By observing the wildlife already backyards of all the houses on my using your yard, you may learn how block. Cardinals and chickadees to improve it. If catbirds seem to moved up and down this 150- frequent a thicket, there is a good foot city hedgerow for the entire chance that an enlarged area or neighborhood to enjoy. The second thicket will do more of the telephone lines served as song same. If chipmunks and squirrels

30 Developing Your Backyard seem always to be on or in the stone meadow, garden, and lawn may wall, extending the wall or adding a accommodate more wildlife and second wall will increase the activity. more viewing opportunities than If cardinals and other songbirds one habitat alone. And you can disappear into the protective cover incorporate your outdoor activities of cedars or pines, more evergreen into your wildlife design. conifer trees will add more usable My family really uses our backyard. cover. In winter, observing tracks My wife loves to work in her flower of animals may help you understand gardens, and our children use their how wildlife is using your backyard. outdoor play equipment. We coexist The National Wildlife Federation’s with the wildlife and enjoy their Backyard Wildlife Habitat presence, but we don’t avoid going Program (www.enature.com/ outdoors out of fear of scaring the backyardwildlife/nwf_bwh_home. animals. What we do is modify our asp) and Cornell Laboratory of behavior when we want to get a Ornithology’s Project FeederWatch better look at what the animals are (www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/) have doing. Children become genuinely forms that help people record interested in backyard rabbits, information about backyard wildlife chipmunks, and “chickadeedeedees” in a useful and systematic manner. and learn how to view wildlife I personally keep a nature journal without startling them. As the by making short entries in an animals get to know you they will engagement calendar as I observe learn that your presence is generally things I find noteworthy. This not threatening to them. proves to be a handy reference, for If you are considerate of wildlife I find myself checking past years’ in your backyard they may come notes for arrival dates of birds and to seemingly ignore your presence. when I can expect to see wildflowers There are limits. If you approach in bloom. too closely they will flee, but will Designing Your Backyard soon return. When filling your feeders your presence may actually for Wildlife and You attract wildlife. The trees may fill Landscaping and gardening blend with finches, and chickadees and well with efforts to attract wildlife. nuthatches may land on the feeder A diversity of habitat patches before you are even finished. ranging from woodland to ,

31 Developing Your Backyard

Birds Hitting Window feet from trees and escape cover. Sometimes birds fly into windows, Remember that dense ground cover becoming stunned or even killed. under or near feeders and baths If you notice this is associated with can place animals on or near the a particular feeder, you might try ground at risk of attack by moving its location. Feeders 4 to 10 predators. Feeders should either feet away from windows cause the be right at your window or 15 or most problems as birds flush off a more away to limit window strikes. feeder, pick up speed, but don’t have Separate feeders so that wildlife enough reaction time to avoid a move between feeders. There will window. You can attach silhouettes be less crowding, smaller birds will of hawks to the outside of windows have more opportunity to feed, and or otherwise break up reflections hygiene is improved. There is no (hang streamers). Fine netting can one correct distance but I suggest be hung in front of windows to 15 feet or more, if possible, as a catch birds before they hit. guideline for separating feeders from other feeders and baths. What You Can Do In Your Backyard This booklet has provided a lot of information on FOOD, WATER, and COVER. Now it is up to you to design an outdoor space so that the animals will feel secure moving through and around your yard and provide you with the opportunity to observe them. Don’t feel that you need to do everything. Do what makes sense in your backyard and appeals to you. A few simple improvements may be all you need to greatly enhance your backyard for wildlife.

Feeders and Baths: Choose good seed and place feeders and baths 10

32 Developing Your Backyard

The backyard wildlife habitat design above illustrates ideas you might be able to adapt to your backyard.

33 Developing Your Backyard

Avoid Problems: Hang feeders There is no single correct backyard and shields at least 4 feet above wildlife habitat design. Different the ground or snow pack to keep ideas may work for you. One squirrels and other unwanted possible design is shown on animals out of feeders and nesting page 33. Although featuring a boxes. Keep feeders and nesting 2-acre parcel, components of this boxes away from overhanging or design can be adapted to smaller nearby branches or other surfaces areas. Whether you control a large from which an unwanted mammal or small parcel of land, it can be may leap. successfully managed for wildlife. Brackets within the diagram set off Landscape: Plants that provide the most intensely managed portion food, nesting sites, and escape cover of the design (1/2-acre; about 120 x for wildlife should be added to 180 feet). your backyard if they are missing. Flowers will attract bees and The use of fences, walls, and planted butterflies, and don’t require a lot of screens can create a natural space space. Leave seed heads on flowers even within a densely populated so that they will stand above the area. Consider working with snow and be available to the birds adjoining landowners to enhance through the winter. Add features your neighborhood for wildlife. like brush piles and hedgerows that Your backyard wildlife habitat provide cover. Retain some dead doesn’t need to be fancy -- just trees if they are not a safety problem adequate. Whatever your situation, and add nesting boxes. remember the essential elements of wildlife habitat: FOOD, WATER, Design Your Space: An animal and COVER. If your backyard that might hesitate to cross a 200- provides these elements and is a foot strip of lawn might readily relatively safe place for wildlife, cross if creative plantings narrow you’ll be successful attracting the opening or provide islands wildlife. of protective cover. If you have enough space, let some areas grow wild. Some open space is good and lets you more easily observe the wildlife in your backyard. An open perch or two will also provide some viewing opportunities.

34 Maintaining Your Backyard

Maintaining Your If more wildflowers are desired, Backyard Wildlife Habitat mow several times then stop in June to allow chicory and other flowers Seeding, Mowing, and that do well in disturbed sites to Cutting mature. A naturalized lawn will have many flowering plants such o allow wildflowers to grow as clover, gill-over-the-ground, and Tyou can turn the soil and sow dandelions that can be mowed. seeds. Commercial wildflower mixes are available or you could gather To keep an area brushy you will wild seeds. Another approach is to need to cut out trees periodically so mow the area once a year to prevent they don’t shade the shrubs. This woody plants from taking over. can be done selectively, tree by tree If persistent flowering plants like as they begin to dominate the shrubs goldenrods are desired, hand cutting (when about 3 inches in diameter). woody stems every few winters Another method is to completely after the snow has knocked down wildflowers is enough.

Not mowing lets wildflowers and grasses used by wildlife grow.

35 Maintaining Your Backyard cut a portion of the brushy area Move plants in the spring before every few years and let the buds open or in the fall when sprout. Don’t cut the entire area at dormant (after frost but before the same time as this will eliminate ground freezes) to improve your brush habitat for at least one season. chances of success. Many good gardening books are available and nursery professionals can provide Warning: Avoid extensive advice. cutting and mowing of previously uncut areas from I trim the roots by slicing the April through September ground around a tree or shrub a to protect nests and young week or more before transplanting animals. Woodcock begin so that the tree will recover nesting in April and goldfinch somewhat before I move it. By may still have young in the nest limiting root damage you will in September. increase the chance of the plant’s survival. Prevent the plant from drying out during the move, and water it until it is established in the Moving Trees and Shrubs new location. Left alone, most land in Vermont would revert to forest. This Moving trees and shrubs is a lot of process (natural succession) can be work and is not always successful. quickened by planting desired trees You should select common plants if they have not seeded in naturally. that grow in an area similar to Some important wildlife plants where you wish to move them. A may be absent from your backyard, plant growing in a shady moist site and planting them may be the only probably won’t survive in a dry open reasonable option. area. Know what you are moving and select healthy specimens. Fill in If moving trees and shrubs (always holes you make and avoid damage to get permission first!), select surrounding plants. smaller specimens. These will have a smaller root ball and will be Nursery-grown trees are readily stressed less than a large plant. A 3 available, and larger specimens can to 5-foot tree generally has a 12 to be moved. Vermont nurseries have 18-inch root ball and can be quite plants used by wildlife, and some heavy. nursery staff are knowledgeable

36 Being Responsible about the relative wildlife value a Purple loosestrife and Japanese of selected plants. Your local and tartarian honeysuckles Conservation District may also be crowd out native plants. a good source of advice. When possible select native species.

Being Responsible Dangers of Collecting Wildflowers ransplanting wildflowers may Tplace wild populations at risk and the specimens you move may not survive. Never transplant rare, threatened, or endangered plants. If you are not sure of a plant’s identification do not attempt to move it. Overcollection of native plants can be a problem in Vermont. Many native wildflowers are available from nurseries, and buying plants may be the best action. These pink lady’s-slippers almost always die when Non-native Animals and transplanted. Enjoy them in Plants the wild so they may live. Beware of introducing species of wild animals and plants that are not native to Vermont (sometimes Global Warming and What called exotics). Native animals and You Can Do* plants can be harmed by the exotics. Global warming has been linked Examples include: to the buildup of CO2 and other a House sparrows and starlings, heat-trapping gases in introduced from Europe, now the earth’s atmosphere, causing the disrupt the nesting attempts of rapid increase in the earth’s average native birds. surface temperature.

37 Being Responsible

Changing average temperatures some of your lawn with low- and precipitation patterns due to maintenance groundcover or a global warming is a serious threat to native wildflower patch. native plants and animals. Invasive, a Reduce the expansion of nonnative plants and animals will . Remove expand their range by outcompeting invasive plants from your garden native species, while growing and plant native alternatives. conditions for many native plants a may become unsuitable in much of Incorporate a diversity their historic ranges. of native plants into your landscape. A diverse range Climate changes caused by global of native blooming warming will also present new and fruiting plants challenges for . But there will provide food are simple actions you can take in for wildlife and your own backyards to help reduce help maintain your contribution to global warming the important including: connection between pollinators a Improve your energy and their hosts. efficiency. Reduce your household’s electricity a Reduce water consumption by replacing consumption. regular outdoor and indoor Mulching, light bulbs with compact installing fluorescent bulbs, installing rain barrels, outdoor automatic light timers, watering and purchasing solar-powered garden products. a Reduce the use of gasoline- powered yard tools. Use electric-powered or human- powered tools such as push mowers, hand clippers, and rakes instead of gasoline-powered Using human-powered push lawn mowers, weed eaters and mowers instead of gasoline- leaf blowers. Consider replacing powered lawn mowers help reduce greenhouse gases.

38 Being Responsible

only in the morning and evening the threats imposed by climate to avoid mid-day evaporation, change. and using drip irrigation *(adapted from National Wildlife Federation’s are ways to reduce water The Gardner’s Guide to Global Warming) consumption in your garden. When to Stop Feeding a Develop a . a Reduce water pollution If natural foods are abundant associated with heavy and the weather is mild, downpours by developing eliminating food at your feeders rain gardens, which capture will have little effect on wildlife. stormwater runoff and help a If natural foods are scarce, prevent it from entering local the weather cold, and wildlife lakes and streams. have come to depend on your a kitchen and garden offerings of food (a likely set waste. Composted kitchen of circumstances in Vermont and garden waste is an excellent during winter and early spring), nutrient source for your garden, then eliminating food at your reducing the need for chemical feeders could have a very . negative effect. a a Plant lots of trees to absorb If you are going away for an carbon dioxide. As a tree extended period during winter grows to maturity, it can absorb or early spring, consider having and store as much as a ton a neighbor fill your feeders for of CO2, the greenhouse gas you. primarily responsible for global a If leaving for several days, fill warming. Planting trees near all your feeders and load up a your home can protect your large roofed feeder to keep food home from the hot sun in the available. summer and cold winds in the a If you need to stop feeding, winter, reducing energy use for do so gradually over several air conditioning and heating. weeks to help wildlife make the a Get Involved. Work together to transition to foraging elsewhere. ensure your community, town, state and nation take substantive actions at all scales to address

39 Being Responsible

Preventing Disease dogs kill animals as large as deer in a Keep feeders, birdbaths, and Vermont. If you intend to attract nesting boxes clean to help wildlife, reasonable efforts should prevent disease that can affect be made to make your backyard wildlife. a relatively safe place for wildlife. Some possible solutions in mixing a Periodically empty residue from pets and wildlife include: feeders and clean with soap and a water. Keep pets indoors, leashed, or fenced. a Rake up and dispose of dropped a seed that has accumulated Discuss problem animals with beneath feeders. their owners. a a Change water in birdbaths often Modify your choice of future and brush clean when residue is pets. apparent. Poisoning a Clean nesting boxes out at least If you can’t find alternatives to once a year. I check mine after such as moth balls, mouse nesting in the fall and again in and rat pellets, , and early spring prior to nesting. and other poisons, use Cats and Dogs these products sparingly and only according to directions on the label. Cats kill many small animals like Many products you can purchase are songbirds and baby rabbits, and extremely toxic to children, wildlife, pets, and you. a Read the label before you buy the product. a Antifreeze should never be left in an open container. This “sweet” fluid can attract mammals (including children), with deadly results.

Cats, including pampered pets, kill songbirds and other small animals.

40 Being Responsible

Other Risks to Wildlife a Avoid attracting wildlife to areas where they might be likely to cross busy roads and be at risk of being struck by a car. a Electric bug zappers kill many non-target moths and other harmless insects. Leaving Wildlife Wild Returning a baby bird to its nest is one of the few times touching In general, it is a good policy to wildlife is acceptable. leave all wild animals alone and enjoy them from a distance. State may follow your scent to the young and federal laws prohibit the animal or your very presence may possession of wild animals as pets. cause the animal stress. Most wild animals do not do well in captivity because they are adapted Animals that Need Help to living in the wild, and we usually If you find an animal that is injured lack the skill to care for them. or one you are sure is orphaned, You may come across young animals licensed wildlife rehabilitators may and think that they are orphans. be able to assist you. For more This is usually not the case. Fawns information contact your nearest have little scent so that predators Vermont Fish and Wildlife Office. won’t find them and female deer At some point you might find a leave their young alone while they young bird that has tumbled out go off to feed. of a nest and is otherwise in good Waterfowl nests are sometimes shape. Adult birds will still feed located in cover far removed from young birds on the ground, but they water, and the ducklings must are at greater risk of being found by travel from the nest site to water predators. Returning baby birds to after hatching. You may see a lone their nests, if feasible, can aid their duckling that is headed for water. survival. If you interfere, you may actually An alternative is to place a fallen cause the animal harm. Predators bird in an open box or basket and

41 Being Responsible hang it in a tree where the adult and loud music to convince them to birds will see it. Briefly touching leave. a young bird will not cause an A raccoon feeding on dropped adult bird to reject it. This is an birdseed or fruit in your compost exception to the rule about not pile may discover that what you touching animals and should not store in your garbage cans is tasty, be interpreted as meaning touching too. If you have a problem with birds is okay — in most situations raccoons, cut off their food supply. it is NOT a good idea to touch Try placing your trash in an animal- birds. resistant container, latched box, or shed that they can’t open. Turn over When Wildlife Get Annoying your compost pile and lime it, or In time you may find that some stop adding to it. Place feeders on of your backyard wildlife have a post with a large tray that catches annoying habits. My wife is not dropped seed, and use a predator overly fond of the woodchuck cone shield so that raccoons can’t grazing in her flower garden. The get to it. rabbit prunes some of our bushes a little too closely. I view these Rabies situations as challenges and tests of Don’t leave meat scraps, bread, my willingness to coexist. I have and pet food outside because they fenced our vegetable garden and may attract raccoons, foxes, and some small trees and shrubs. I’m skunks, as well as neighborhood told that a low-strung electric fence cats and dogs. All these animals can is very effective protection for become a nuisance. You should gardens. never approach wild and If you encounter wildlife-related stray mammals. problems, consider solutions that exclude or discourage animals before taking drastic measures. Skunks or raccoons may take up residence under your porch or in your garage because these areas are dark and quiet. Try using bright lights

42 Wildlife and You

Medium-sized wild animals can More than half of the NNHP inflict serious wounds and may budget is provided by citizen transmit rabies and other diseases. donations to the Nongame Wildlife Avoid physical contact, especially Fund. Over 5,000 donations, with raccoons, skunks, foxes, stray averaging over $16.00, are made to cats and dogs, woodchucks, and Vermont’s Nongame Wildlife Fund bats. These animals represent about every year. These dollars made the 95% of animals diagnosed with creation of this booklet possible. rabies in the U.S.A. If you have To make your contribution to the questions about rabies call Nongame Wildlife Fund, 1-800-4-RABIES. • donate when filing your state Wildlife and You income tax form (give part or all of your refund or add a hope you will find that this contribution to your payment), I booklet is useful for your backyard wildlife experience. In • purchase a conservation today’s fast-paced world it is licenese plate, soothing to look out the window • donate when buying a fishing and be reminded that birds still sing or hunting license, in the morning and that squirrels and chipmunks still frolic in the • or send a donation directly to: sunshine. Remember that you too can share in life’s simple pleasures. Nongame Wildlife Fund The Nongame and Natural Heritage Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department Program (NNHP) studies and 103 South Main Street, 10 South manages many species of wildlife Waterbury, VT 05671-0501 that are not fished, hunted, or trapped. Peregrine falcons and ospreys are once again nesting in Vermont, and our knowledge of some often overlooked creatures— small mammals, frogs, insects, and freshwater mussels—is increasing. With your help, future generations will also enjoy Vermont’s natural heritage.

43 Backyard Wildlife Contacts

All about Birds Purple Martin Conservation Association www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/ 301 Peninsula Dr., Suite 6 Erie, PA 16505 Audubon Vermont http://purplemartin.org 255 Sherman Hollow Road Huntington, VT 05462 Vermont Association of Conservation (802) 434-3068 Districts email: [email protected] 4510 East Hill Road, Craftsbury, VT 05826 www.vt.audubon.org/ 802-586-7589 Chapter info: http://vacd.org/conservation_districts.html http://vt.audubon.org/chapterList.php Vermont Association of Professional Green Mountain Audubon Center: Horticulturists http://vt.audubon.org/centers.html P.O. Box 92, N. Ferrisburgh, VT 05473 Bat Conservation International www.vaph.org P.O. Box 162603, Austin, TX 78716 Vermont Center for Ecostudies publisher of BATS Magazine PO Box 420, Norwich, VT 05055 www.batcon.org/home/contact.asp www.vtecostudies.org Birds of Vermont Museum Vermont Coverts: Woodlands for 900 Sherman Hollow Road, Wildlife, Inc. Huntington, VT 05462 PO Box 81, Middlebury, Vermont 05753 publisher of Chip Notes www.vtcoverts.org/ www.birdsofvermont.org/ Vermont ebird Botanical and Bird Clubs, Inc. http://ebird.org/content/vt/about www.vtbb.org/about.htm Vermont Entomological Society (insects) Federated Garden Clubs of Vermont www.vermontinsects.org publisher of Vermont Leaf www.gardencentral.org/fgcv/homepage/ Vermont Institute of Natural Science 6565 Woodstock Road National Wildlife Federation Rte. 4, P.O. Box 1281, Quechee, VT 05059 11100 Wildlife Center Dr, Reston VA 20190 www.vinsweb.org 1-800-822-9919 or email [email protected] www.nwf.org/backyard/ Vermont Master University of Vermont Project FeederWatch 105 Carrigan Drive, Hills Building Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Burlington, VT 05405-0082 159 Sapsucker Woods Road email: [email protected] Ithaca, NY 14850 www.uvm.edu/mastergardener/index.html Toll free: (877) 741-3077 email: [email protected] Vermont Rabies Hotline, 800-4-RABIES, www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/ also offers information about nuisance animals Wild Bird-feeding Society www.birdfeeding.org

44 Reference Materials

Most of these books are available at Hosting the Birds, 1989 by J. Mahnken. libraries or from bookstores. Storey Communications, Pownal, VT. Songbirds in Your Garden, 1987 by J. K. Terres. General References Harper & Row Publishers, New York, NY. America’s Favorite Backyard Wildlife, 1985 by K. and G. Harrison. Simon and Schuster, Butterflies Inc. New York, NY. The Butterfly Book: An Easy Guide to Butterfly America’s Neighborhood Bats, 1988 by M.D. Gardening, Identification and Behavior, 1991 by Tuttle. University of Texas Press, D. and L. Stokes and E. Williams. Little Austin, TX Brown. The Beginning Naturalist, 1989 by G. The Butterfly Garden: Turning Your Garden, Lawrence. New England Press, Window Box or Backyard into a Beautiful Home Hanover, NH for Butterflies, 1985 by M. Tekulsky. The Harvard Common Press, Boston, MA. Gardening with Wildlife: The Official Backyard Habitat Planning & Planting Kit, National Butterfly Gardening: Creating Summer Magic in Wildlife Federation, 1412 Sixteenth St., N. Your Garden, 1990 by The Xerces Society W., Washington, D.C. 20036-2266. and Smithsonian Institute. Sierra Club Books. Landscaping for Wildlife, 1987 by C.L. Henderson. State of Minnesota Bookstore, St. Paul, MN. Children’s Books Birdwise: Forty Fun Feats for Finding Out About Woodworking for Wildlife, 1987 by C. L. Our Feathered Friends, 1988 by P.M. Hickman. Henderson. State of Minnesota Bookstore, Addison-Wesley Publishing, Reading MA. St. Paul, MN. The Curious Naturalist: A Handbook of Crafts, Your Backyard Wildlife Garden: How to Attract Games, Activities, and Ideas for Teaching Children and Identify Wildlife in Your Yard, 1992 by M. About the Magical World of Nature, 1980 by J. Schneck. Rodale Press, Emmaus, PA. Mitchell and The Massachusetts Audubon Society. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, Birds NJ. The Audubon Society Guide to Attracting Birds, 1985 by S. W. Kress. Chas. Scribner’s Sons, Hands-On Nature: Information and Activities New York, NY. for Exploring the Environment with Children, 1986 by J. Lingelbach. Vermont Institute Backyard Bird Habitat, 1988 by W. Curtis. of Natural Science, Woodstock, VT 05091. Countryman Press, Woodstock, VT. Sharing Nature with Children, 1973 by J. Beyond the Bird Feeder: The Habits and Behavior Cornell. Amanda Publications, Nevada of Feeding-Station Birds When They Are Not at City, CA. Your Feeder, 1981 by J.V. Dennis. Alfred K. Knopf, New York, NY.

45 Reference Materials

Global Warming The Gardner’s Guide to Global Warming www.nwf.org/gardenersguide/Gardeners_ About the Author Guide.pdf teve Parren was born in The EPA GreenScaping Program www.epa.gov/epaoswer/non-hw/green/ SHartford, Connecticut, owners.htm#why received a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Natural Resources Plants Conservation from the University of Connecticut, and Grow Native Shrubs in Your Garden, 1980 worked on wildlife projects in by F.M. Mooberry and J.H. Scott. The Alaska and Washington State Brandywine Conservancy, Chadds Ford, PA. before moving to Vermont in 1979 where he earned a The Natural History of Wild Shrubs and Vines: Master’s of Science Degree Eastern and Central North America, 1981 by in Wildlife Biology from the D.W. Stokes. Harper & Row, Publishers, University of Vermont. Steve New York. was the founding director of Shrubs and Vines for Northeastern Wildlife by Bluebirds Across Vermont and J.D. Gill and W.M. Healy. Technical Report he is presently the Coordinator NE-9. U.S. Forest Service, Broomall, PA. of the Nongame and Natural Heritage Program within the Pesticides Vermont Fish and Wildlife The Chemical Free Lawn by Warren Schultz. Department. He resides in Rodale Press Books, 33 E. Minor St., Monkton, Vermont, with his Emmaus, PA 18049, (215) 967-5171. wife Lauren and daughters Nora and Molly. Steve credits Citizen’s Guide to Pesticides, 1991 by Environmental Protection Agency his interest in wildlife biology (EPA). U.S. Government Printing Office, to his childhood experiences Washington, D. C. Publication #1992-622- observing backyard wildlife. 330-1302/60089. Over twenty people commented on earlier drafts and assisted with editing, which greatly improved this booklet. Thank you. - SP

46 Central Vermont Public Service (CVPS) Statement of Principles

n January 1993, CVPS and the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department formed Ia partnership with the purpose of implementing a Vermont Backyard Wildlife Habitat Project. The goal of this project is to enhance the appreciation and respect for Vermont’s wildlife.

In May 1993, CVPS adopted a statement of environmental principles. Recognizing that the electric business affects the environment, CVPS acknowledges a responsibility to present and future customers, the company’s employees and society to protect the environment in which we operate. We want to leave Vermont a better place for our children and grandchildren. As a result, CVPS will balance the often competing needs of environmental protection and reasonable, justifiable cost to our customers. Given this understanding, CVPS has adopted the following principles: 1. Natural Resource Management We will strive to conserve the land, water, forests and other natural resources under our care and will also strive to:  Use resources wisely  Practice sustainable use of natural resources  Encourage use of recycled materials and products 2. Electric Resource Management We will strive to:  Advocate the use of cost-effective and energy efficient electric products and measures  Seek an energy future that encourages energy efficiency, electric load management, cost-effective cogeneration and renewable resources  Provide a reasonably priced resource mix that recognizes the need for diversity, reliability and stability which takes environmental impact into account 3. Pollution and Waste Management We will strive to:  Reduce the amount of waste we produce and recycle or safely dispose of the balance  Take responsibility for any of our actions that have an undue adverse impact on the environment and take steps to correct or minimize them  Identify and remediate significant harmful or hazardous situations on our properties, inform our employees and public about them and act to prevent their recurrence  Use safe, non-toxic materials in our operations FISH & WILDLIFE DEPARTMENT 103 SOUTH MAIN STREET, 10 SOUTH WATERBURY, VT 05671-0501